SOL Girls' Basketball Wrap (1-28-14)

Check out the results for SOL girls’ basketball teams in action.

National Conference

COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 42, PENNSBURY 41
Lou Palkovics watched his team dig itself into an early 13-5 hole after one quarter. With his team struggling to find it shooting touch from the outside – the Indians were 0-for-10 from beyond the arc in the first half, the veteran coach decided it was time to change things up.
It was the team’s lone senior – captain Katie Budny – who provided a much-needed spark late in the first half.
“With about two-and-a-half minutes to go in the second quarter, it was still 14-6,” Palkovics said. “I called a timeout and said, ‘I’m done with this. I would like to see someone dive on the floor. Since we’re obviously not hitting anything from the outside, we have to get things going to the basket,’ which was tough with (Sarah) Altruse.
“I put Katie back in, and on a loose ball, Katie dives on the floor and got a turnover. The next possession she drives to the basket like I was asking everyone to do and hit a couple of free throws. The next possession – we won’t run and jump off (Sajanna) Bethea or (Kaitlin) Kelly, but we can run and jump off the other players. Katie had a steal and threw it up to Emily Mackin for a breakaway layup, and the next thing you know it’s tied. She just willed us to win tonight. I give her a lot of credit.”
By halftime, the Indians had knotted the score 17-17. The Indians outscored the Falcons 10-7 in the third quarter to go on top 27-24 and held on for the win.
Budny finished with five points. Jessica Gerber led the Indians with 13 points to go along with four rebounds, two steals and one assist while Emily Mackin added 11 points, four rebounds, two steals and one assist. Michaela Finneyfrock had three rebounds, five steals and one assist.
For the Falcons, Bethea led the way with 16 points while Kelly added nine.
The Indians upped their record to 6-4 in the SOL (8-7 overall) while the Falcons fell to 6-5 in the league (7-10 overall).
Council Rock North     5          12        10         15-42
Pennsbury                13          4          7          17-41

NESHAMINY 58, WILLIAM TENNENT 26
The Redskins used a dazzling 23-4 first quarter tear to take early control of Tuesday’s game. By halftime they led 35-8 on their way to the convincing win.
The key to their strong start?
“The press,” said assistant coach Tom Farquharson. “It was 110 percent the press. Morgan (Rosenbaum) and McKenna (Mullin) were really aggressive up front.
“Tennent tried to beat us quick, so our guards had to be ready up front on the press. Once they adjusted to Tennent’s speed, I thought they did really well with it.”
Mullin led the Redskins with 15 points while Sarah Oliveira added a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds, but this was the consummate team effort. Megan Schafer had 10 assists and six steals, Goldenbaum had eight points and four steals. Maddie Murray had 10 points and four steals, and Tiara Porterfield had nine points on three treys.
“The balanced scoring was huge,” Farquharson said. “Somebody steps up every game, and today it was even more balanced than normal.”
The Redskins upped their record to 9-0 in league play (13-2 overall) while the Panthers fell to 5-5 in the league (11-6 overall).
William Tennent         4          4        12         6-26
Neshaminy              23        12        13        10-58

ABINGTON 77, HARRY S TRUMAN 28
Michael Harris had a big night for the Ghosts, finishing with a double-double that included 21 points and 15 rebounds. Deja Rawls added 17 points and Leah Simmons, 14. Taylor Nicholson chipped in nine points.
For the Tigers, senior Khristaijah Jackson led the way with 22 points.
The Ghosts seized early control of the game, opening up a 23-4 lead at the end of one quarter and extending that to 43-11 by halftime.
While the Tigers fell to 1-10 in league play (4-13 overall), the Ghosts improved to 8-2 in the league (11-6 overall).
Abington                  23        20        18        16-77
Harry S Truman         4          7          6        11-28

COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 64, BENSALEM 29
Allison Taub continued her string of impressive performances for the Golden Hawks. The junior forward collected another double-double with 19 points and 15 rebounds. For good measure, she also had seven steals and three assists. Taylor Dillon added 15 points, and Emily DeAngelis had 13.
Lyric Lewis scored 10 points to lead the Owls, who trailed 28-7 at the end of the first quarter and never threatened.
The Golden Hawks evened their league mark at 5-5 (6-11 overall) while the Owls fell to 0-9 in the league (1-14 overall).
Bensalem                     7      11           4          7-29
Council Rock South     28        8          15        13-64

Continental Conference

SOUDERTON 49, CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 39
On Jan. 4, the Indians – riding the wave of a six-game winning streak – travelled to Central Bucks East where that streak came to an abrupt halt in a 52-44 loss to the Patriots.
On Tuesday, they exacted a degree of revenge.
“This was an important game,” senior Katie O’Connor said. “We lost to CB West the other night, and we knew we couldn’t let them win again.
“The last time we played them we came out and thought we had it in the bag. This game we came out knowing what we had to do. Especially since the season is coming to a close, we want to end on a good note and put ourselves in a good position for playoffs.”
O’Connor certainly did her part to make sure there would be a different outcome this time around, connecting on four three-pointers and finishing with a game-high 20 points to go along with six rebounds and three assists.
“She had a great shooting night Friday at CB West,” Souderton coach Lynn Carroll said of O’Connor’s 19-point effort against the Bucks. “She had another one tonight. She’s so dependable, consistent, smart and focused.

“I’m really proud of her. She really stepped up. I thought they did a nice job on Allison (Gallagher) and Bianca (Picard). Bianca is not even close to 100 percent, but they did a nice job on Allison and Bianca. Katie found her opportunities and took them. We don’t win that game if Katie doesn’t play as well as she did on both ends of the court.”
Sophomore Sarah Derstein had 12 points, nine rebounds, three steals and three blocks. Gallagher added nine points and Picard had eight.
Senior Courtney Webster had another big night for the Patriots, finishing with 19 points. Katelyn Miller added eight points.
The Indians led 16-13 at the end of one quarter and then extended that lead to 24-13 after an O’Connor trey midway through the second quarter. The Patriots, sparked by back-to-back baskets by Karoline White, trimmed that lead to 24-19 by halftime.
Sparked by seven points from O’Connor, who scored 13 of her points after the intermission, the Indians regained control in the third quarter and led 35-26 head into the final frame.
“The third quarter is so important for us,” O’Connor said. “In the past, we’ve had trouble with the third quarter and come out slow. This game was really different.
“During halftime, coach said, ‘You have to step up. We can’t let this slip away from us.’ We came out strong in the third quarter.”
For the Patriots, the loss came on the heels of Friday’s loss to North Penn.
“We knew we had a tough stretch coming up with North Penn, Souderton and then CB West tomorrow night,” East coach Liz Potash said. “We just need to find a way to have a little bit more energy and come out with a little bit more fight.
“We play hard, we fight to the end, but there was something missing tonight. I need to do a better job of getting us to a point where we can be in these games.”
While the Patriots saw their record drop to 5-5 in league play (10-6 overall), the Indians upped their record to 7-4 in the league (13-5 overall).
“I think it was important we get this win,” Carroll said. “You always want to at least split. If you lose the first one, you want some kind of revenge. We’re also playing for playoff points, and most importantly, at this point in the season, you’re trying to maintain a high level of play. You want to be playing your best basketball at this point in the season to get ready for playoffs, and I thought we played pretty well tonight.”
Central Bucks East     13        6          7          13-39
Souderton                16        8          11        14-49

NORTH PENN 63, QUAKERTOWN 41
Senior Vicky Tumasz scored 21 points to lead the Lady Knights while senior Erin Maher contributed a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Bri Cullen added eight points, and point guard Sam Carangi had seven points and five steals.
For the Panthers, Ashlee Ruzicka and Meghan Klee had big nights. Ruzicka had 14 points and eight rebounds while Klee collected a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds. She also had three assists, two steals and one block. Olivia Morano had 15 rebounds, and Brooke Alwine scored eight defense and played strong pressure defense on North Penn’s guards.
“I am very proud of the effort of the girls tonight,” Quakertown coach Brittany Remmey said.
The Lady Knights led 22-11 at the end of one quarter and took a 36-20 lead into halftime.
North Penn upped its record to 9-2 in league play (15-3 overall) while the Panthers fell to 0-11 in the league (1-16 overall).
Quakertown    11         9          6        15-41
North Penn     22        14        21         8-63

CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 67, PENNRIDGE 33
Meghan Tillger led a balanced West attack with 14 points while Nicole Munger (13 points) and Corrinne Godshall (10 points) also finished in double figures. Peyton Traina added nine points, Mackenzie Carroll had seven and Makenzie Mason added six points.
Lydia Konstanzer led the Lady Rams with 13 points while Devan Rimmer added eight.
The Bucks jumped out to a 23-6 lead at the end of one quarter and took a 45-14 lead into halftime.
The Bucks are 8-2 in league play (15-3 overall) while the Lady Rams fell to 4-7 (6-11 overall).
Central Bucks West    23        22          22        0-67
Pennridge                  6          8          10        9-33

CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 39, HATBORO-HORSHAM 27
Alysha Lofton and Lauren Mosher both had big nights for the Titans, finishing with 16 and 15 points respectively.
Sophomore Cassidy Quattro had 11 points to lead the Hatters, who hung tough for one half.
The Titans led 10-9 after one quarter and took a 23-17 lead into halftime. They blew the game open with a 10-0 third quarter.
The Titans are 9-2 in league play (16-3 overall) while the Hatters fell to 1-10 in the league (1-16 overall).
Central Bucks South   10        13        10          6-39
Hatboro-Horsham      9          8          0          10-27

American Conference

UPPER MERION 50, PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 49
In a game that felt a whole lot like a playoff game, the Vikings continued their magical run with a heartstopping win over the Colonials in the opening game of a girls/boys doubleheader.
The Vikings, according to coach Tom Schurtz, led by as many as eight in the fourth quarter, but the Colonials refused to go away.
“I thought we had control of the game,” the Vikings’ coach said. “We had done a tremendous job on their three guards out front – Asia Baker, Rachel Konowal and Alynna Williams.
“We were making them work to score, and then with two minutes to go, three different players hit three’s on three consecutive trips. How often do you see that? We looked up, and our eight-point lead was gone.”
Things got real interesting down the home stretch. Asia Baker sank both ends of a one-and-one to trim a 45-42 Upper Merion lead to one. After the Vikings misfired on the front end of a one-and-one, PW, according to coach Daniel Dougherty, fumbled the rebound out of bounds, giving the Vikings the ball.
Regie Robinson, who led all scorers with 25 points, connected on one-of-two from the foul line to put the Vikings on top 46-44. The Colonials shot for the tie came up short, and Robinson was fouled on the rebound. She buried both shots to make it a 48-44 game with 23 seconds to go.
Baker connected on her lone field goal of the night – an NBA three-pointer – to make it a 48-47 game. The Colonials forced a turnover on the inbounds and pulled the ball out. Baker was fouled and made both ends of a one-and-one to put the Colonials on top 49-48 with seven seconds remaining. PW was whistled for a foul on the inbounds. Robinson stepped to the foul line and made both to give the Vikings a 50-49 lead.
The Colonials’ shot at the buzzer fell off the front of the rim, and the Vikings had won their eighth game in nine outings.
“We’ve just been resilient,” Schurtz said. “This is our third big win in the league. The first two times have been come-from-behind wins. This is the first time we were in control of the game and the other team wrestled it away from us through just a great effort on their part.
“We were able to calm the ship a little bit and got the ball to the person we wanted to get it to, and Regie made some free throws. We’re learning a lot about ourselves right now. We’ve beaten some really good teams this year.”
The Vikings are 7-4 in league play and 11-7 overall after a 2-5 start to the season.
“We pulled the girls together and said, ‘We have to start coming together or we’re going to fall apart,’” Schurtz said. “I think they’ve learned to lean on each other.
“Our game plan tonight was to get to the ball inside, but it was a guard-driven game. Their three guards were lights out. Jessie Michael and Regie Robinson played great for us, and I thought Katherine Bailey’s defense on Asia Baker in the second half was absolutely tremendous.
“That’s one of those things that doesn’t show up in a box score. Asia is a great player, but Katherine really did a good job, giving up inches and size today. That’s a senior stepping up and being a leader. She had one of those nights where she knew her team needed her to defend the other team’s best player.”
While Robinson led the way, Upper Merion freshman Jessie Michael, who had three three-pointers – including a pair to open the fourth quarter, added 11 points.
The Colonials were led by Alynna Williams (17 points) and Baker (11 points). Chrissie Mesunas added seven points, including a clutch trey in the fourth quarter. Rachel Konowal, who had five points, also had a big three.
The Colonials are 8-2 in league play (14-3 overall).
Upper Merion                          7      12         12        19-50
Plymouth Whitemarsh           13        6          10        20-49

CHELTENHAM 56, WISSAHICKON 42
Ashley Jones and Amarri Truehart provided an impressive one-two scoring punch for the Lady Panthers in Tuesday’s win. Jones led all scorers with 27 points, which included a pair of three-pointers and a 7-for-7 performance at the foul line. Trueheart added 23 points.
Trueheart scored 14 points in a first half that saw the Lady Panthers open up a 26-13 lead. Jones did most of her damage in the second half, scoring 19 points as the Lady Panthers edged the Trojans 31-29.
Daria Earland had a big night for the Trojans, finishing with 17 points. Brittany Gelman added six points on a pair of three-pointers. Jessica Steitz also had six points.
The Lady Panthers improved to 6-4 in league play (11-6 overall) while the Trojans fell to 2-9 in the league (4-12 overall).
Cheltenham     11        15         17        14-56
Wissahickon     4          9          17        12-42

UPPER DUBLIN 55, UPPER MORELAND 19
The Flying Cardinals jumped out to a 16-3 lead at the end of one quarter and took a 28-8 lead into halftime on their way to the big win.
Regan Gallagher turned in another workmanlike effort, finishing with 12 points, six rebounds and four steals. Demi Balasa had 12 points and three steals, and Jackie Lillo added 10 points and seven rebounds. Julie Cross had 10 points.
Lindsay Walder led the Golden Bears with seven points.
While the Golden Bears fell to 2-9 in league play (4-14 overall), the Flying Cardinals upped their record to 10-1 in the league (16-2 overall).
Upper Moreland         3          5          5          6-19
Upper Dublin           16        12        16        11-55


NORRISTOWN 78, SPRINGFIELD (MONTCO) 38
The Eagles seized early control of Tuesday’s game, jumping out to a 25-8 lead at the end of one quarter and stretching that to 42-21 by halftime.
Briana Hedgepeth had a huge game for the Eagles, scoring 29 points. Keifona Ferguson added 20 points and Brianna Schools had seven.
For the Spartans, Molly Dugan led the way with 12 points. Veronica Asman had 10 points, and Jayla Greene had seven.
Norristown improved to 7-4 in league play (9-8 overall) while the Spartans fell to 1-10 in the league (4-14 overall).
Norristown     25        17        13        23-78
Springfield      8          13        9          6-38

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